AT A TIME WHEN PLAYERS on the PGA TOUR are paying admirable attention to their health and fitness, Carl Pettersson is a throwback, channeling the physiques of guys like Porky Oliver, Julius Boros and Billy Casper, who had long since said goodbye to a 32-inch waist before they ever came on TOUR. Couch potatoes of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your starvation diets! Pettersson, 34, fired a 2-under-par 69 to win the RBC Heritage by a generous five strokes over Zach Johnson and unlike so many of his fellow TOUR members, he did not credit his win to his Spartan diet and love of the fitness trailers—something he once tried, which led to the loss of 30 pounds and, for all intents and purposes, the edge on his golf game. “Ultimately, just because you don’t look like an athlete doesn’t mean you’re not an athlete,” said Pettersson, whose victory was his fifth on TOUR. “We’re not running a marathon out here, we’re walking 18 holes.”

168 PGA TOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE 2013

“Ultimately, just because you don’t look

like an athlete doesn’t mean you’re not an athlete. We’re not running a marathon out here, we’re walking 18 holes.”

– Carl Pettersson

Beginning in 2009, Pettersson committed himself to a fitness and weight-loss program and then thought better of it and set to work to rediscover the body that worked best for him and his game. It wasn’t rocket science. “Well, you drink 10 beers and eat a tub of ice cream before bed,” Pettersson said. “That puts it on quickly. “It’s fun to play again and I kept the weight on,” he added.

PETTERSSON HAS FAST START Pettersson, who came in second in the Shell Houston Open two weeks before, ran in a 24-footer on the opening hole for a birdie. He added another birdie, from 16 feet on the par-3 fourth hole and when Johnson bogeyed No. 10, Pettersson had a five-stroke lead and never looked back. “I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself, so I kind of downplayed the whole thing,” he said. “But getting off to a birdie on one was great. I like all the holes. I didn’t have one hole on the front nine where I felt awkward over the tee shot or second shot.” Johnson, four strokes behind Pettersson after three rounds, made a run with birdies on Nos. 2, 4 and 5 and closed to within three of Pettersson with a birdie on No. 15 and Pettersson followed with a bogey. But Johnson’s hopes crashed when he drove into a waste bunker on No. 16 and made a bogey. “There were a couple of bumps along the